Lined container



Q P 1965 L. F. HUMPHREY ETAL 3,206,094

LINED CONTAINER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 19, 1963 INVEN 70/?5 LESLIE FRANK HUMP/{REY MICHAEL CLIFFORD CHAPMAN WILL/AM DA V/DSON WEfl mam/P HTTOPNEYS l 1965 L. F. HUMPHREY ETAL 3,206,094

LINEDCON'IAINER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 19, 1963 5 5 Kv NP v, mam m NP R E FHA T T w m W W f N ma F WY EEA #0 mm LMM A w W United States Patent 3,205,094 LINED CONTAINER Leslie Frank Humphrey, Michael Clitiord Chapman, and William Davidson Weatherup, all of Maidstone, Kent, England, assignors to Reed Paper Group Limited, London, England, a British company Filed Nov. 19, 1963, Ser. No. 324,619 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Nov. 21, 1962, 44,658/62 4 Claims. (Cl. 229-14) This invention concerns improvements in or relating to containers.

It is already known to provide containers for the storage and transport of liquids such as, for instance, fruit juices or vinegar in quantities of say a few gallons which will be held by a retailer and dispensed in smaller quantities to customers as required. Such known containers have comprised jar-like semi-rigid containers of polyethylene enclosed in a protective case of corrugated board or cardboard. It is a disadvantage of such containers that they occupy a considerable space when empty as they are not collapsible. Other known containers comprise a cube-shaped prefabricated inner container of polyvinyl chloride sheet which is removably mounted in a cardboard casing which is itself carried in an outer protective cardboard casing. When such containers are required to be filled for use it is necessary to assemble the cube-shaped container within its inner casing and outer casing and then finally to secure a cardboard lid over the otherwise exposed end of the cube-shaped container which carries a dispensing orifice.

It is an object of this invention to produce an improved container which can be conveyed when not in use, in a flat condition and which can then be simply and quickly erected for use.

According to the invention therefore, there is provided a container comprising a length of thin tubular thermoplastic material sealed at each end and having a dispensing orifice at one end, and a protective casing therefor of cardboard, corrugated board or like foldable material which casing includes a foldable rectangular base, side walls hingedly connected to two opposite sides of said base, and foldab'le flaps adapted to extend along the other two sides of said base, said tubular material being secured adjacent its two ends to said two side walls, so as to enable the container to be folded fiat with said tubular material between said two side walls or to be readily erected by forming said casing up into a body of rectangular section thereby extending said tubular material.

Preferably the said protective casing is formed from a single integral blank of material and has said foldable flaps hingedly connected to the opposite sides of the two said side walls, each such side wall having on each side a flap extending over half the said other two sides.

It will be appreciated however that the foldable flaps could be provided on each side of one only of the said side walls and/or could be attached hingedly to the other two sides of the base in which event such flaps could themselves be folda'ble about a line forming an extension of the foldline in the base.

It is preferred furthermore to provide further protective flaps on the ends of said side walls remote from the base, which further flaps are adapted to extend over the top of the erected container and overlap one another. Such further or top flaps preferably include a cut out portion hingedly connected to one side wall, which engages over the said dispensing orifice and may be secured to the top surface of the tubular material. If desired registering hand holes may be provided in overlapping portions of such further flaps.

3,205,094 Patented Sept. 14, 1965 It has been found most advantageous to use extruded flattened tubing as the material for the tubular container, the portions thereof at each of its corners forming, when the container is erected, an outwardly extending triangular ear, the outer face of each said car being adhesively secured to the said casing.

So as to lessen the likelihood of liquid in the container filling the said ears and exerting pressure at the corners and fold lines thereof, which may result in the material at such corners being penetrated and leakage occurring, the said casing preferably has parts adapted, when the container is erected, to form a triangular pocket enclosing each of said ears.

Thus, in a preferred arrangement, the base of the said casing has a foldable extension hingedly connected at each end thereof, to which foldable extensions the adjacent pair of ears of the tubular material are respectively secured, such foldable extensions being adapted, when the container is erected, to form triangular pockets enclosing said ears. Then, where foldable flaps are provided as aforesaid, hingediy connected to the opposite sides of the two said side walls, the said foldable extensions will preferably also be hingedly connected to said foldable flaps.

At the top of the container, when further protective flaps are provided as aforesaid, one of said further flaps may have a foldable extension hingedly connected at each end thereof to which pair of extensions the adjacent pair of cars of the tubular material are respectively secured, such foldable extensions being adapted, when the container is erected, to form triangular pockets enclosing said ears. Again, such foldable extensions of said further flap may be hingedly secured to said foldable flaps where the latter are provided on the side walls of the casing.

The length of tubular material is preferably secured to the casing by a suitable adhesive and, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, is adhesively secured to the casing adjacent the ends of said one of said further flaps, over substantially the whole area of the base, and along strips adjacent the lateral edges of each side wall, in addition to having the said ears of the tubular material adhesively secured to the casing as aforesaid.

In general it is preferred to provide a second and outer protective casing of cardboard or corrugated board to receive the container therein. Such outer casing can be of conventional design but may if desired be provided with suitable hand holes and/or with a readily severable tear strip to provide a rapid means of removing the contamer from its outer casing.

We have found that by using a foldabie inner casing within which the tubular container of thermoplastic material is secured, preferably adhesively, a thin gauge of material can be used which notwithstanding the difficulty of manipulating such thin material can readily be erected into the desired shape of container by merely erecting the inner casing.

It is preferred to use polyethylene as the material for the tubular container. A dispensing orifice of any desired type, eg threaded to receive an external screw cap or plain to receive a plug type stopper or tap, can be fitted to what will in use be the top of the container. Plat tubing can readily be cut into desired lengths, the ends of such lengths then being heat sealed to close the top and bottom of the tubular container.

in order that the invention may be well understood one preferred embodiment thereof will now be described in further detail, by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a blank for making an inner protective casing for the container;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view, with part of the inner pro- 3 tective casing broken away, of the container before erection;

FIGURES 3 to 6 are perspective views showing the container in four sequential stages of its erection; and

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view showing the container housed in an outer protective casing.

Referring first to FIGURE 1, the inner protective casing 1 of the container is formed from a single integral blank of double faced corrugated board divided by cuts and fold lines into a number of hingedly interconnected panels and flaps.

The blank for forming the inner casing 1 includes a rectangular base panel 2 to each of whose longer sides rectangular side Wall panels 3 and 4- are hingedly connected. Each such side wall panel has a foldable flap 5 hingedly connected at each of its longer sides, the flaps 5 each being of one half of the width of the base panel 2 so that, as will be clear from FIGURES 5 and 6, they serve in the erected container to form two further composite side walls.

The base panel 2 has hingedly connected thereto, at each end, an extension panel 6 also hingedly connected at its sides to the foldable flaps 5 and formed with oblique fold lines 7. The base panel 2 and its extensions 6 have a fold line 3 extending medially thereof, about which the whole blank may be folded into the position illustrated in FIGURE 2 as described below.

The side wall panels 3 and d have further flaps 9 and 10 respectively hingedly connected at their outer ends, which further flaps are of approximately the same width as the base panel 2 and will thus overlap in the erected container to form a composite top closure for the container.

The flap 9 has end extensions 11 formed with oblique fold lines 12, similar to the extensions s on the base panel, while the flap 1% is provided with end wings 13 adapted to be folded down the sides of the erected container. I

A hinged flap 14 formed with an aperture 15, adapted to fitover the spout of the container, is cut out of the flap 10, and the flap 9 is formed with a cut out 16 to permit access to the spout when the flap 9 and the flap 10 are closed over the erected container.

The blank 1 has areas of adhesive shown dotted in FIGURE 1, to which a length of extruded flattened polyethylene tubing, forming an inner bag 17 of the container, is secured when the blank is folded over about the fold line 8 as shown in FIGURE 2.

Before being secured to the blank 1, the ends of the tubing are heat-sealed along their entire length so as to form the bag 17. As a result, when the bag 17 is formed up into a rectangular cross section triangular ears 18 will form at each corner (see FIGURES 3 and 4). When the bag is applied to the blank at the FIGURE 2 stage of assembly, such ears are adhesively secured to the triangular gummed portions of the extensions 6 and 11 of the base 2 and flap 9 of the blank. The base and side walls of the bag 17 are adhered to the corresponding gummed portions of the base 2 and side walls 3 and 4 of the casing 1, while the gummed flap 14 of the casing is adhered about a spout 19 furnished in the top of the bag.

The bag 17 having been secured to the casing 1 in the fiat condition of the latter illustrated in FIGURE 2, erection of the container is carried out as shown in FIGURES 3 to6.

Thus, as shown in FIGURE 3, the base 2 of the casing is first returned to its flat condition so as to open the bag 17 adhered thereto and to bring the side walls 3 and 4 into their upright positions.

The remaining side walls of the casing are then formed by folding the flaps 5 inwardly. This step results, as may be seen from FIGURES 4 and 5, in the gum-free portions of the extensions 6 of the base 2 being folded inwardly on top of the ears 18 at the bottom of the bag 17 so as to form, in conjunction with the gurnrned parts of the said 4 extensions, triangular pockets 20 enclosing the bottom ears 18. The extensions 11 of the flap 9 are similarly folded over the top ears 18 of the bag to form triangular pockets 21 therefore (see FIGURE 5).

The pockets 2t) and 21 with the ears of the bag 17 enclosed therein, are then folded over on to the flaps 5 (this folded position of the pockets 21 being shown dotted in FIGURE 5) and, the flap 10 having been folded over on to the fiap 9 to close the top of the container, the wings 13 thereof are folded down over the pockets 21 to complete the assembly (see FIGURE 6).

If desired, areas of contact adhesive may be provided adjacent the ends of the panel 9 to engage with the top of the bag 17 and assist in holding it upright when erected.

The assembled container may then be placed in an outer protective casing 22, as shown in FIGURE 7.

The outer casing 22 is made of double faced corrugated board and is of generally conventional construction being formed from a single blank of material which is formed into four hingedly interconnected side walls 23 each of which has at each end a hingedly connected flap 24, the four flaps at each end serving respectively to provide a double thickness top and bottom. Hand holes may be cut in two opposite side walls and a rayon or like thread may be adhesively secured across the inside ofthe casing, the ends of the'thread being secured to two tabs released from the side wall as to provide a tear strip. It will be understood that the dimensions of the outer casing 22 will so selected that the inner casing 1 will fit snugly therein.

It will be seen therefore that a container for liquids has been provided which can easily be dispatched in a flat condition when empty, and which can readily be assembled for filling. While it is possible by securing the flaps and panels of the inner casing for example by adhesive tape to provide a complete container, it is preferred to provide an outer casing as well which outer casing can of course also be dispatched in the flat condition and can be quickly erected.

It will be appreciated that, besides liquids, powdery, grandular or other particulate materials can be stored in containers according to the present invention.

We claim:

1. A container comprising a length of thin flat tubular thermoplastic material sealed at each end and having a dispensing orifice at one end, and a protective casing therefor of cardboard, corrugated board or like semirigid foldable material, which casing includes a foldable rectangular base, side Walls hingedly connected to two opposite sides of said base, foldable extensions extending along the other two side of the said base, said tubular -material being secured adjacent its two ends to said side Walls so as to enable the container to be folded fiat with said tubular material between said side walls and to be erected by forming said casing up into a body of rectangular section thereby expanding said tubular material, said foldable extensions having hinged lines formed therein to enable them to be foldable into the form of triangular pockets which, in the erected container, enclose the triangular ears formed at the bottom corners of the said length of tubular material when it is expanded.

2. 'A container as defined in claim 1, the said triangular ears of the length of tubular material are adhesively secured to said foldable extensions.

3. A container as defined in claim 1 including foldable flaps hingedly connected to the said side walls, the said foldable extensions being hingedly connected to the ends of said foldable flaps.

4. A container as defined in claim 1 wherein further protective flaps are provided on the ends of said side walls remote from the base, which further flaps are adapted to extend over the top of the erected container and overlap one another, one of said further flaps having a foldable extension hingedly connected to each end thereof and said foldable extensions having hinge lines 5 6 formed therein to enable them t0 be foldable into the 3,054,549 9/62 Humphrey 229--14 form of triangular pockets which, in the erected container, 3,100,587 10/63 Cox 22914 X enclose triangular ears formed at the top corners of the 3,108,732 10/ 63 Currie et al. 22913 said length of tubular material when it is expanded. 3,143,249 8/64 Merrill et al.

I" References Cited by the Examiner 2 FOREIGN PATENTS 9 7,866 6/63 Great Britain. 2 375 809 S EZ ZI PATENTS 229 14 98370 7/61 Norway' oore Palmer X O. Primary Examiner.

2,432,052 12/47 Waters 229 14 FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Examiner. 

1. A CONTAINER COMPRISING A LENGTH OF THIN FLAT TUBULAR THERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL SEALED AT EACH END AND HAVING A DISPENSING ORIFICE AT ONE END, AND A PROTECTIVE CASING THEREFOR OF CARDBOARD, CORRUGATED BOARD OR LIKE SEMIRIGID FOLDABLE MATERIAL, WHICH CASING INCLUDES A FOLDABLE RECTANGULAR BASE, SIDE WALLS HINGEDLY CONNECTED TO TWO OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID BASE, FOLDABLE EXTENSIONS EXTENDING ALONG THE OTHER TWO SIDE OF THE SAID BASE, SAID TUBULAR MATERIAL BEING SECURED ADJACENT ITS TWO ENDS TO SAID SIDE WALLS SO AS TO ENABLE THE CONTAINER TO BE FOLDED FLAT WITH SAID TUBULAR MATERIAL BETWEEN SAID SIDE WALLS AND TO BE ERECTED BY FORMING SAID CASING UP INTO A BODY OF RECTANGULAR SECTION THEREBY EXPANDING SAID TUBULAR MATERIAL, SAID FOLDABLE EXTENSIONS HAVING HINGED LINES FORMED THEREIN TO ENABLE THEM TO BE FOLDAWBLE INTO THE FORM OF TRIANGULAR POCKETS WHICH, IN THE ERECTED CONTAINER, ENCLOSE THE TRIANGULAR EARS FORMED AT THE BOTTOM CORNERS OF THE SAID LENGTH OF TUBULAR MATERIAL WHEN IT IS EXPANDED. 